ColinC1

Now you have sorted that, he, he. Here is a common problem, easily solved.... have a look at the engine bay after a rain downpour. Is the top of the engine full of rain water drips?, the battery?, the electrics?, the rest of the engine bay ? if so then you will have a poor seal along the back of the engine bay, that seals to the bonnet. The answer is silicon grease smeared along the lengh of the rubber seal in the engine bay. Use RS components tube of grease, part 494-124 or get some from a plumbers merchants. never use vasaline as that would rot the seal. I had this problem of a wet engine bay, but it is now dry as I smear some gease on every 6 months.

I have not had many ABS or CSC 'cornering stability control as Citroen call it' operations in two year of driving, so I did not know the light goes on in operation. (cant see this in the handbook, except it saying if it stays on then you have problems ?) But my last car, a Smart Fortwo was forever giving it stability control light flashing, and that happened on Mud slips, gravel, puddles and icy surfaces. But these wee cars were somewhat unstable due to the ultra short wheelbase. I still loved it for all its quirkyness, but I need four seats nowadays.

When I read these horror stories I wonder why we bother paying for warrenties. As for the cam belt story, well I just do not understand why they put nylon cam belts on the outside of engines that snap so easily. (maybe they like making fortunes out of these repairs). A £5,000 bill is horrendous, considering I bought my new Citroen C1 for just £1000 more. In the old days all cars came with a metal link chain cam belt located within the engine block and made to operate FOR LIFE, not 47k miles. Oh, by the way the City bugs, ie, the C1, Aygo and 107 have got the old idea with a lifetime metal link chain cambelt within the engine. A lot of new cars are now reverting back to this, which cuts down on a very expensive bent valves repair.

I actually traded up in size from a two seater Smart Fortwo, to a C1, as I need a four seater :o I do not like the new facelift as the car now looks like it has a big gaping mouth :)

It has been said that the optional extra 'rear roof spoiler' deflects the air flow and reduces this dirt effect. I cannot confirm or deny this works, as I do not have a spoiler. Spoiler owners please comment !

Glad your sorted in a way :rolleyes: I would also agree with turboslag, to keep lubricating the runners occasionally ;)

Yes, winter is in and for those who have bought a C1 or one of the other city bugs but not been through a winter yet, then its time to find out you get a very dirty back. The design of the rear of the car tends to draw in the dirt, so very quickly your rear is hellishly dirty :rolleyes: Main thing is to keep your rear window, lights and numberplate clean, even if its only going over with a wet sponge and some cold water. I do this every time I use the car in winter ;)

I saw a C1 Airplay+ today, silver in colour. This is the special editon that comes with a plug-in I-pod. It comes with matching chrome detail inside, on the air vents, dash, etc. So crome is definately available, its a case of checking with parts, to see if you can buy seperately. http://www.testdriven.co.uk/citroen-c1-c2-...ecial-editions/

I would, but maybe as my third car <_< Serously, I would buy another due to their reliablity and easy-ness to drive.

Some other posts have mentioned the window rubbing excessivly in the runner causing the motor to stop, but it is not that common. The one problem I had with mine (fitted aftermarket electric window motors two years ago), is that last week my passenger who was using her electric window, warned me that the horizontal seal (black plastic/rubber) at elbow height, on top of the metal part of the door had come loose and was ready to fall into the cabin. I stopped the car, got her to put the window right down, lined up the horizontal seal and banged it down with my fist, and as its only a compresion fit, it clicked back into place, as good as new. I assume the window had rubbed the rubber a lot over the two years, so eventually it had pulled the seal out of its compresion fit. Weird !

You should get around 58 MPG on average once your engine is loosened up (I have got that figure over my two years with my C1) As for electric load, well lights have a really small pecentage loss compaired with A/C, or a heavy lead foot, fast off the lights stuff, or wrongly inflated tyres (shoud be 32 PSI for the standard factory fitted non-alloy tyre). NOTE: Although you will get salesmen and members on car forums saying that modern car engines do not need to be run in, the engine will last longer and work better over its lifespan if you do take care to run in the engine in the first month.... Remember to run the car in for the first 1000 miles (one month roughly) by not going too fast, vary the engine revs on a journey, and do not over rev (if like most of us who do not have a rev counter in their C1, then your ear will have to judge revs instead). Cheers, and I hope you enjoy your city bug ;)

Yeh, the servicing costs are pretty steep, but if you want to retain the warrenty, its required.... I suppose they want to recoup some money on these cars :) I am glad you are stilll enjoying the car, and I agree the front tyre treads dont last that long (2 years on). Overall though, these are good value and very reliable small cars, and I would buy another once mine is a bit older, plus recommend to anyone that a city bug (C1, 107 and Aygo) is a good first or second car. Mind you the name city bug, bugs me a bit (pardon the pun), as I have been up and down the countries motorways in mine on holidays, and they are just as good at cruising speeds, as they are in the city.

Interesting to note some of your Rythm electic windows stopping for a short time. Possibly there may be a thermal cutout in the circuit of the factory fitted electric windows, in case you keep your finger on too long on the up/down button at the end of glass travel, or due to mechanical loading, ie, glass jambing up or too much friction with the rails. A thermal cutout is a protection device, which cuts the electrical supply, and allows time for the window motor winding to cool down before resetting, and allowing the circuit to become active again after a short time period. I personally have a Vibe with DIY aftermarket electric windows that have a 400mm long chaindrive with a reduction gearbox. ie, my window motor is 400mm away from the window drive spindle. This uses the chain as a takeup mechanism when hitting the end of travel. This protects the motor if my finger stays on the up/down button too long. ie, a mechanical method that is similar to the electrical method of a thermal cutout.

Just got my latesst brochure today, (thinking bout getting a new city bug, as mine is now two year old already, does'nt time fly). A few changes.... Colour Yellow has gone (well the greeny yellow that did not sell well), so if you want yellow it has to be a 107 :huh: We now just have ... red (non-mettalic), the rest are mettalic at cost... grey, silver (still termed grey), a blue, and a black. New Accessories (pardon me if some are not new to you) Parking sensors fitted £196 Mudflaps now available and fitted (at last) £58 Sliding and tilt glass sunroof factory fitted (yes, at last) .. price unknown (mine was £170 aftermarket) Fog lamp kit fitted £148 Roof rack and box (short) £212 Special edition model .... C1 Code Wait for it guys, it comes as standard with the glove box lid .. Hallelluyah !!!!!! Just got to save up now :(

Heres mine, and again another red C1 :unsure: My Vibe with Aygo protection side strips (stick-on pieces for 3 door version, approx £60 from Toyota), and I also got aftermarket 3 position tilt-up glass sunroof (an Inalfa F700 at £170 installed) http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/greatchi/PICT0024.jpg PS... I never got mats either, although the salesman said he would get them for me verbally, I never got it in writing DOH !

Never really had a problem with this, are you sitting low down, high up, rather than the average viewing position. As you say there has not been that much sun this year to notice. I am glad there is very little silver inside the car, as a lot of modern dashes have this and is far more distracting. Mind you it took me a long while to get used to the red metal on the door interiors. (red car)

Yes, it is quite common for the seats to squeak, especially if you are (to put it politely) heavily built. I do get the occasional squeak, depending on the exertions put on the seat. The reason is simple, the seats are only made to a certain standard, so tend to creak. As for noises in the back.... Here they are, and you will have to do a search for more details. Rear tailgate hinges squeaking... requires wd40. Rear seat belt anchorages squeaking.. there is a solution, I did this myself, by installing rubber washers to take up the slack, do a search. A spare arial is hidding under your rear seat, I kid you not, I found one, and so have other members. Reason .... the wheel trims and arial are in the boot when delivered to the dealer, the arial gets lost under the seat, they fit a different one, and eventually the spare loose one rattles. Plus side... I have a spare arial.

I have hardly ever touched the button, I mean, no-one usually uses this button, as its for emergency use. I just think it must be the red colouring in the plastic that makes it brittle and starts cracking on its own.

It was just before that happened, 1994 and they knew the legislation was coming in, but I did not, hence the spec update. But this story emphasises waiting for a new car has its costly pitfalls, and this one is that if a manufacturer updates the car spec and asks for more money, you can be landed with the bill when you go to collect. Hence it is better to get a new car off the showroom, or in stock, or a dealer swap, or a guarenteed time of delivery within a reasonable period. If not, then ask for a written guarentee of no increases or hidden costs during the waiting time or just walk away and buy a different make of car.

My words of advice for all those who have ordered a new City Bug, and been told the delivery is far longer than expected..... Make sure the price for the new car is held for a guaranteed time period (say the next 6 months), no matter how long the wait, get that in writing. Also if you have a trade-in the same goes for keeping the price held on that. I have suffered in the past waiting for new cars and the delivery period slips, so I always ask for the above, if expected delivery date is iffy. SORRY STORY.... I bought a brilliant new Honda Civic coupe years ago , made in the USA. It was supposed to be 8 weeks delivery and ended up six months wait, due to being RHD and unforseen massive sales. When the car arrive, I was asked for a £400 hike in price due to a increase in Honda prices the month before. I totally refused to pay that saying the car shoud have been delivered to me 5 months before this price hike. They acceped this logically. Also to rub it in worse, due to the delay in production, the cars spec had changed and a factory fitted immobiliser was now standard at a £200 extra cost. I asked for it to be removed, but it was an integral part of the engine managment system, so it was impossible to do that. The Honda garage would not release the car to me until I stumped up that £200, so they had me over a barrel. I paid up and wrote to Honda Headquarters UK, stating the whole sorry story and that I had bought 4 previous Hondas, so eventually they did pay me back the £200. Since then I have ensured that I am always covered in writing, to avoid delivery delay problems on new cars.

Has no-one else got a cracked button ?

The whole thing about city bugs is that they are all the exact same to drive with japanese reliablilty. It depends on market conditions when you will get your bug, if you want one for the new reg then there is more of a waiting list. I always have a personal plate, so 'new reg time' does not bother me, so when I bought my red 3 door Vibe, I got it in 4 weeks straight from the factory. Also my reason for buying the C1 was cost, it was the cheapest at the time (cashback offer) with the best trade-in price for my Smart Fortwo, so I jumped for it. OK, some like the front or back of a specific make of the car for visual reasons, but at the end of the day they are all the same car, off the same production line. Hence, when the time comes to trade in my C1, I willl be buying another 'City Bug', and again, the make will depend on price and availability. Only this time it MUST have central locking and electric windows.

I just noticed today, a dark crack forming on my red warning triange button on the dash. I know its only an 'unsightly thing' and not a real fault as such, but... it seems quite a common problem as your C1 / Aygo/ 107 gets older. (mine is 2 years old). The reason I say this is that I have seen at least three city bugs,, ie, mine, my sister Aygo, and a friends 107, have the exact same dark cracks forming to a greater or lesser extent. Any idea how they get there, as I have hardly ever used this button. Is it easy to replace if I buy a new one from citroen? Anyone know the price ?

My sisters car (an Aygo) got one wing and bumper destroyed by a hit and run driver in a carpark, no witnesses. Cost was £1600 to repair parts by a car repar shop (mettalic gray paint). paid by her insurance, but she unfortunately she had to pay her £200 excess, Luckly she had protected No Cliams bonus. I watched the job getting done when I was in their workshop, with all the bits laid out, and the new wing was bolt on, like all the city bugs. Only thing I would watch out for, which happened to her car, is that the cars front can deform inwards depending on how severe the hit, this happens quite easily due to crumple zones, so that the bonnet does not quite align with the headlights and wings, as it gets pushed back. If you are doing the job yourself , make sure that there is no deformity of the bonnet compaired to the other parts. Also check your mechanics at the front, like radiator, steering, front susoension is working ok.

Yes, the tyre pressure for the standard factory fit tyres are 32 PSI. Over the last 2 years I have got 58 MPG on average. I have been very fortunate with my tyres as they hardly lose any pressure at all, over a long period of time. I check them less than I should, due to having to take my Citroen wheel trims off (plus cutting 2 tieraps per trim), just to get at the air valve with my gauge. Real bad design DOH ! I find I had only lost 2 PSI in a year ;) As you say if your pressures are down then you lose out fuel economy wize, and wear out your tyres quicker, and the cars safety is compromised. And, if the pressures are to high then you get a very hard ride, and again wear and safety is an issue.